The ROI of Telehealth (Webinar)

When looking to implement a new digital health program, such as telehealth video visits, healthcare providers are focusing on return on investment. Will this program increase revenue, boost practice efficiency and improve patient satisfaction? Focusing on these areas can be an effective method to assessing potential ROI.

Join the webinar: Increasing Revenue and Improving Patient Care With Kareo Telehealth

Increase Revenue by Turning Non-reimbursable Encounters into Reimbursable Ones

Follow-up telephone calls may be a vital part of patient care, but they are generally not reimbursable—meaning that time does not contribute to practice revenue. Telehealth solves this problem by turning these conversations into reimbursable encounters in many cases.

Providers can set aside the time to go over test results, review treatment efficacy, and discuss next steps. In addition to boosting the bottom line, this approach creates a closer connection to patients and increases the likelihood that the information will be understood. Just this one change can often be enough to achieve a positive ROI for telehealth.

Fewer Cancellations and No Shows

Although some practices charge patients for missed appointments, many don’t. (There are valid arguments to be made for each approach.) If your practice doesn’t charge patients for no-shows or last minute cancellations, this common problem can take a big bite out of profits. Technologies that notify patients about upcoming appointments via telephone, text message or email, go a long way toward solving this problem.

Offering the option of video visits can be very beneficial, eliminating the challenges, such as missed time from work, childcare and transportation, that cause patients to miss appointments in the first place.

Boost Practice Efficiency and Patient Satisfaction by Improving Provider Availability 

The obvious limiter on practice revenue growth is the provider’s time. You can only see so many patients in a day, after all. Technology that improves practice efficiency opens up the opportunity for individual providers to see more patients in a day. Adding just a few extra patients a week across all providers can have a big impact on practice income. Telehealth is one technology that has enabled many practices to work more efficiently, and increase case volume, without hurting the provider’s work/life balance.

Telehealth also opens up the possibility of seeing patients during non-standard office hours. Providers can pick up a few cases in the evening or on the weekend, offering a valuable service to clients while increasing revenue at the same time. By setting a goal for a minimum number of visits per week, as well as established timelines for implementation and go-live, you are sure to see a quicker return on investment.

When surveyed, 75% of patients are interested in using telehealth and seeing their doctor over video.

Overall, implementing telehealth in your practice doesn’t need to be difficult. Measuring both qualitative and quantitative results will provide valuable data of how telehealth is working in your practice as well as the cost savings.

Sign up for our webinar on: Increasing Revenue and Improving Patient Care With Kareo Telemedicine